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Let the Cyber Wars Begin: Federal Regulators Prepare Their Arsenal

The Insider: White Collar Defense and Securities Enforcement

Federal agencies have begun arming themselves for war against cybercrime. By the nanosecond, the ubiquitous Internet and related technology offer endless opportunities for wrongdoing. Notorious Russian hackers meddled in companies that manufactured and sold voter registration software and voting equipment to influence last year’s Presidential election. In September 2017, credit reporting company Equifax announced that sensitive financial data of over 143 million consumers had been hacked, exposing customers to identity theft. A Brooklyn man has been sued for operating a bitcoin Ponzi scheme to acquire $600,000 in unregistered fraudulent investments. The share prices of publicly traded companies have been manipulated through fake news shared and tweeted on social media. The speed of online innovation and the increase of online engagement makes it increasingly difficult to keep track of the latest digital developments, let alone any potential misuse of such technology. The annual cost of global cybercrime is predicted to double from $3 trillion in 2015 to $6 trillion in 2021. In response, federal regulators have started new units and initiatives to combat misconduct in the cyber world. [...]